


True Colors

by corgasbord



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Coming Out, Fluff, Gen, Trans Characters, now with even more wholesome platonic interaction, yes it's another one of those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 17:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10949724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corgasbord/pseuds/corgasbord
Summary: Rantarou and Shuuichi trade secrets over a bottle of nail polish.





	True Colors

**Author's Note:**

> so i felt like writing more platonic amasai, with a dash of my platonic ot3 thrown in there for good measure. i got the idea to do this as a follow-up to two of my other fics, [A Temporary Fix](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10410240) and [You're Still You](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10551736), though most of the context comes from the former. a lot of this is based off of headcanons about these three characters that i hold dear, so i hope there are folks out there who enjoy them as much as i do!
> 
> ([tumblr](http://corgiboard.tumblr.com/post/160858722100/true-colors) link)

Shuuichi doesn’t remember when exactly it became part of his routine to let Rantarou paint his nails. He knows _how_ it started, of course; he had just wanted a way to stop his incessant nail biting, and Rantarou had granted him that in the form of a clear coat. It had proven far more effective than he had anticipated, however, and Shuuichi soon found himself coming to Rantarou roughly twice a week after school to get it reapplied.

Thankfully, Rantarou had known better than to keep dragging him off to the supply closet in the boys’ bathroom to do it. That surely would have raised some eyebrows at some point. He somehow always finds other places to use instead, places that are abandoned so as to maintain their privacy.

But this time, Shuuichi invites Rantarou over to his house, and for a bigger reason than the fact that it's more comfortable than anywhere on school grounds. This time, he's resolved to tell Rantarou a secret that he's only shared with Kaede.

Shuuichi is a trans boy, and fear has kept him in the closet since he started high school.

Kaede is actually the one who inspired him to trust Rantarou with this information. He had come out to her a couple months before, and in light of how easily she’d accepted him, he’d begun to feel like he should tell their other friends as well. He just hadn't been sure where to start, and he wasn't comfortable with the idea of announcing it to their entire class.

He recalls the advice she gave him last week in between bites of lunch as they sat together on the roof.

_”You don't have to do that. Just do it at a pace that's comfortable for you- baby steps, y'know?” Then she clapped her hands together once, like something had just occurred to her. “Oh! Why don't you try talking to Rantarou-kun about it? You two have been getting pretty close lately, haven't you?”_

_“I mean, I suppose, but…” He trailed off, uncertain._

_“If you want to, of course!” She added hastily. “I'm not trying to put extra pressure on you or anything. I just suggested him because I know he won't mind.”_

_“Really?” Shuuichi asked, incredulous. “How can you be so sure?”_

_“Well, we've been best friends since middle school, and he's always been super laidback about this sort of thing. So if you're looking for someone else to spill to, he's probably the guy you want. Again, not that you have to or anything.”_

_“Oh. I see… I’ll think about it, then.”_

And he did. He’s still thinking about it, in fact. He doesn’t stop thinking about it, either, not until after he’s ushered Rantarou into his room and he hears Rantarou speak up.

“Are you all right, Saihara-kun?”

Shuuichi blinks dumbly. “Oh- yes, I’m fine. Just got a bit lost in thought, is all.” He sets his bag down and walks over to the low table in the middle of his room, settling cross-legged on one side of it and gesturing for Rantarou to do the same.

So Rantarou sits on the opposite side with a hum, plopping his own bag onto the floor next to him. “Can I ask what’s on your mind?”

“Well…” Shuuichi hesitates, realizing that he had spent so much time planning what to say that he hadn’t considered when to say it. If only he’d taken into account how perceptive Rantarou can be.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Rantarou assures him as he unzips his bag to dig out his nail file. “But I’m here if you need someone to listen.”

“Right. Of- of course.” Shuuichi swallows, fixing his eyes on the table and extending his hand for Rantarou to take.

Rantarou begins methodically smoothing down Shuuichi’s nails, making no further comments on the matter. He’s not the sort to pry _too_ much, after all. Otherwise, how would he maintain his cool and distant facade?

Shuuichi spends the next few minutes chewing his lower lip to ribbons, and when the faint tang of blood hits his tongue, he decides that he shouldn’t spend any more time delaying the inevitable. The longer he puts it off, the more likely he is to cop out altogether, which isn’t what he wants to do.

Rantarou lets go of Shuuichi’s hand to put away the file, and Shuuichi finally pipes up again. “I do have something to tell you, actually.”

“Oh?” Rantarou asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, and… and it’s something you can’t tell anyone, no matter what. No matter how you feel about it, I need you to keep it a secret. Can you at least promise me that much?” He does his best to keep his voice firm, even if he can’t bring himself to look directly at Rantarou.

There’s a brief pause before Rantarou replies, “Well, if you’re that serious about it, then yeah. I promise.” Then he sets his bottle of clear nail polish on the table and reaches for Shuuichi’s hand, only to still suddenly.

“Oh,” he says, concerned, “Saihara-kun, you’re shaking a little.”

Shuuichi hadn’t even noticed that himself. He draws his hand away a bit in embarrassment. “Ah- sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Should I be worried?”

“No, it’s- it’s not anything _bad_ ,” he says. And it really isn’t, but he hopes Rantarou won’t think so. “It’s just… kind of a sensitive subject, is all.”

“Ah, I see.” Rantarou gives him an understanding smile. “Take your time, then.”

Shuuichi nods and takes a deep breath. He should feel reassured by that, but he isn’t, not by a long shot. Rantarou is watching him with the same measured, unreadable stare as always, and Shuuichi feels like he can see right through him.

The metallic taste filling his mouth tells him to release his bottom lip from between his teeth again. He’s overthinking this. Kaede said it would be okay, so it’ll be okay. His decision to trust her proved fruitful the first time, after all, so this time should be no different.

He folds his hands in front of him on the table, looking down at them and willing them to remain still. A task easier said than done, but he somehow manages it, just as he manages to pry the necessary words from his throat. “Okay. The thing is, I’m… I’m trans.”

“Oh.” There’s a note of surprise in Rantarou’s tone, but it fades quickly. “Is that all?”

“All?” Shuuichi repeats, stunned by Rantarou’s nonchalance. “I mean, I… I suppose it is, yes.”

“Okay then. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Although still surprised, Shuuichi breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you…”

“It’s nothing to thank me for. I mean, it wouldn’t be right of me to go spreading that around, would it? Especially since, well…”

Rantarou trails off for a moment in thought. Then, he suddenly leans forward, elbows on the table and the beginnings of a crooked smile forming on his face. “Hey, do you think you can keep a secret, too?”

Shuuichi’s brows knit slightly in confusion, but he nods anyway, feeling that it’s only right to return the favor.

So Rantarou sits up straight again, and before Shuuichi can react, he starts to unbutton his uniform shirt with deft fingers.

“Wait, what are you-” Shuuichi begins to protest, only for it to die on his lips as Rantarou tugs a corner of the fabric aside, just enough for a strip of skin-colored elastic to become visible.

“This is kind of a funny coincidence, actually,” Rantarou chuckles, not at all sheepish. “And I figure it’s as good a time as any to come out to you, too.”

Shuuichi can only stare in nothing short of wide-eyed, open-mouthed astonishment. “So that’s why…”

“That’s why what?” Rantarou asks as he buttons his shirt back up.

Shuuichi tears his gaze away, embarrassed that he’d spoken aloud. “Well, um. You see, I’ve already told Akamatsu-san. That I’m trans, I mean. And she said that if I ever wanted to tell someone else, you were probably the best person to go to… Now I understand why.”

“Ah. I guess that does make sense. She’s known me for years- since before I came out, even,” Rantarou says with a sage nod. Then he smiles again, amused. “Though I have to say that it was pretty sneaky of her, convincing you that telling me was a good idea without outing me. I’m surprised you didn’t catch on sooner, Mr. Detective.”

At that, Shuuichi’s face gets a little warm. “I- I don’t like to go making those sorts of assumptions about people. I’m sure you can understand why.”

“I do understand. It’s not anyone else’s business, after all.” His grin widens, and his fingers wrap around Shuuichi’s, delicately pulling his hand forward. “But hey, now we have something else in common, right?”

The red hue already present in Shuuichi’s cheeks grows even brighter, but before he can ask for the reason behind the sudden contact, Rantarou reaches for the nail polish again. Oh, right. They never actually got around to that.

Shuuichi watches the brush glide over his nails with the same careful precision as always, but his thoughts have wandered elsewhere. There’s a feeling of solidarity that comes with this revelation, certainly, but it also raises more questions in his naturally curious mind - questions that he can’t muster the courage to ask.

Once again, Rantarou solves that problem for him. “Is there anything else on your mind, while we’re still here?”

Shuuichi once again gets that faint, unsettling feeling that he’s transparent to Rantarou, even though the other boy’s eyes haven’t strayed from Shuuichi’s nails. He takes a minute to answer, forcing himself to stop grinding his teeth against the inside of his cheek, which he’s been chewing in place of his torn lip.

“It’s just… there’s one thing I don’t understand.” That’s not quite true, of course - there are many things Shuuichi doesn’t understand about Rantarou, but none of them matter right now. “Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I never understood it. You’re able to be so… so relaxed when it comes to people’s opinions about you. Especially about the way you present yourself- you wear makeup, and you paint your nails, and you just don’t _care_. And now, I have to wonder… how do you do that? Don’t you ever wonder what people will say about you? Or worry that they’ll think that you’re less- that you’re less of a boy because of that?”

Rantarou is quiet, but his brushstrokes don’t falter. He finishes the first coat on both of Shuuichi’s hands and pulls away to let them dry.

Unable to bear the silence, Shuuichi mumbles, “I’m sorry. That was rather personal-”

“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about how to answer,” Rantarou interjects calmly. “The truth is… I don’t think there’s a foolproof way to let negative opinions just bounce off of you. It’s just always been particularly easy for me because I’ve never _had_ to worry. My family and Kaede-chan have always supported me, and they’re the only ones who have ever mattered.”

“Oh. I see,” Shuuichi says, stifling his envy. What he wouldn’t have given for a supportive family and supportive friends. “That… must be nice.”

“I understand that I’m lucky. There are a lot of people who have it harder than I do,” Rantarou continues. “In fact, it’s probably because I’ve been surrounded by that kind of support that I don’t care what strangers think of me. But… in any case, I like the way I look, and having a little interest in the feminine doesn’t make me any less of a boy- just like how my body doesn’t make me any less of a boy.”

“That’s a good way of looking at it,” Shuuichi murmurs almost wistfully.

Rantarou shrugs and takes Shuuichi’s left hand to start applying a second coat. “Maybe, but it’s different for everybody. I get why you’re not comfortable expressing yourself the same way I do.”

“I’d prefer that others see me as masculine,” Shuuichi affirms. “And that’s difficult enough as is.”

“That’s fair. I’m probably not the person to come to about that, though. Maybe try Momota-kun.”

“I have, actually. We work out together sometimes.”

“Oh, really? Good for you, then.” Rantarou flashes him that familiar, genial smile. “But if you ever decide you want to try putting a more opaque color on your nails or something, you know who to call.”

Shuuichi rolls his eyes. “Right. I think you’ve already made me plenty aware of that.”

“Have I? Well, just so you know, I’ve also got extra foundation and mascara that I share with Kaede-chan sometimes-”

“Don’t push it, Amami-kun.”

Rantarou laughs quietly. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just playing.” He then completes the second coat with a flourish and sits back. “Anyway, there you are.”

“Thanks.” Shuuichi pauses, stopping himself from instinctively biting his lip for the sixth or seventh time, before adding, “Actually… thank you for everything, Amami-kun.”

Rantarou waves aside the compliment as he puts away the polish. “I don’t think I really did much, though.”

“Well. Regardless, I appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” Rantarou says. “You do know that you’re always free to come to me or Kaede-chan whenever something’s bothering you, right?”

“Yeah,” Shuuichi replies, stopping just short of another “thank you.” Instead, substitutes it with an implicit promise. “I will.”

“Good.” Rantarou cheerfully claps him on the shoulder, and Shuuichi isn’t sure why, but he likes it more than he would have liked a hug. Maybe it’s because it expresses a special kind of camaraderie, the kind found only between brothers. Or maybe it just has something to do with the fact that his nails are still drying.

Either way, Shuuichi’s chest feels a little bit lighter than it did before, even after Rantarou has shown himself out. He figures that that’s all the proof he needs to mark his mission a success.


End file.
